Food for thought – who really won the Leafs/Flames trade?

I can’t believe that the Flames may have come out on top of the Phaneuf (and subsequent White) trade, but let’s have a look at the 2010-2011 season statistics.

Ian White

Games Played 56
Goals 2
Assists 15
Points 17
Plus/minus – 6

Dion Phaneuf

Games Played 43
Goals 2
Assists 13
Points 15
Plus/minus – 8

Anton Babchuk

Games Played 61
Goals 9
Assists 20
Points 29
Plus/minus 6

Numbers don’t lie. Babchuk has done nearly as well as both White and Phaneuf combined. And before you say that it’s because he’s on a better team… Calgary has won only 6 more games that Toronto has, and 3 more than Carolina. Oh, you say, but Phaneuf and White were hurt. An injury is an injury, regardless if he’s playing on your team or against you. I’d rather have a guy who was healthy enough to get points, rather than a guy who ‘could have done better’ if he wasn’t hurt.

Also did you know that Babchuk was a first round draft pick? So maybe Sutter knew what he was doing when he had to bail on the White deal. Nah, it was probably a law-of-averages type deal – eventually Sutter had to get one right.